Did you see SNL this past Saturday hosted by Zac Efron? They had a commercial that really hit it home against the Junk Mail purveyors- Direct Marketing Association. It got me thinking, why haven’t I opted out of the junk mail that is still filling my mail box? So I went to my favorite website for these kinds of things- The Consumerist– and looked for a way to stop the junk.
You can go to DMAChoice and opt out. To opt out of credit card offers you will be directed to a separate site. There is also a “catalogue” and “other” category. I am most excited to stop the All State and Geico offers, which on the same day my husband and I both usually receive.. What a waste of paper!
Another option is the Privacy Council where you can sign up to end junk mail and be removed from Telemarketing lists. There is a charge for this service, 9.00$.
Go one step further! If you haven’t already, go to your utilities provider, car insurance provider, bank, credit card issuer, mortgage company, and any other company you pay bills to and stop paper bills. Most companies offer this service in conjunction with paying your bill online. If you take these steps you could see your incoming mail cut by half or more. Imagine the trees you can save!
About 100 million trees are ground up each year to produce junk mail (that’s the equivalent of deforesting the entire Rocky Mountain National Park every four months), of which 44% is thrown in the trash before it is even opened. The average person receives about 1.5 personal letters each week and about 10.8 pieces of junk mail. By the end of this year, each person will have received almost 560 pieces of junk mail. Of those 560, 246.5 pieces will be tossed into the trash unread.
This surplus of junk mail is not only killing trees, it is also producing mass waste. Approximately 40% of the solid mass that makes up our landfills is paper and paperboard. This number is expected to rise by the year 2010 to about 48%.
Information from Privacy Council.org
And remember to recycle the mail you are getting!
